Roger Grunky, founder and owner of Long Beach’s longest-running used bookstore, is a man of few words, but many, many books.
At 65,000 and counting, Grunky has filled nearly every square-inch of Once Read Books with an eclectic array of novels.
Bookworms can search for rare historical books, military novels, children’s books, cookbooks, science fiction books, romantic novels, Long Beach history and more within the handmade shelves that scatter the shop.
It was 1987 when Grunky decided to leave his job as a recreational therapist and follow his dream of owning a bookstore, cementing a literary stronghold in the Lakewood Village neighborhood of Long Beach. He said he “discovered” libraries when he was 14 years old and never looked back.
“That’s pretty much what I did [as a kid],” Grunky said.
Before making the leap to lease a location, Grunky had already collected over 20,000 books in his free time from various garage sales, thrift stores and local bookstores.
He started keeping his beloved books in a small storage unit, then a larger one, then the largest unit they offered him. Finally, he decided to buy his books in their own home and established Once Read Books in Lakewood in the late ‘80s.
Once Read Books moved to its current location in the Parkview Village shopping center in Long Beach in 1999.
Since then, Grunky has been selling vintage novels and trading books with fellow bibliophiles to build on his collection.
His strategy is simple: “What I think I can sell is what I accept,” Grunky said, adding that he cares much more about the subject matter of a book rather than the quality. So far his method seems to be working.
Grunky said he made enough money to cover his rent within the first month of opening in 1978 and hasn’t come short once. He said the hardest part was handcrafting the shelves where his books would wait for curious customers.
“I have very supportive customers, they didn’t even know who I was when I opened,” Grunky said. “I was surprised, but I didn’t know better, I was just like, ‘Okay let’s do this.’”
Grunky remembers when used bookstores were dotted throughout Long Beach and Orange County. Long Beach now has three, including Once Read Books. Planet Books, which recently moved to Signal Hill, opened in 1998 and houses many rare first editions of novels and other collectible items.
Gatsby Books, a popular destination for cat lovers and local poets looking for a cozy environment to perform, has been around since 2010.
Grunky said that most of the used bookstores in Long Beach closed because “the book dealers just got sick and passed away … I’ve just been very fortunate in my health that I’ve held up.”
Now his shop is the longest-running used book store in Long Beach, boasting a long list of categories filling nearly every empty space in the quiet shop.
He still keeps his favorites—mostly military and Southern California history books—adorning the five bookshelves in his home, and the “overflow” in his garage. The rest, he allows the community to peruse through and trade for seven days a week.
For readers who wish to keep their collections fresh but don’t want to break the budget doing so, Once Read Books trades for novels on a 3:1 ratio within a respective genre. Residents can trade three romance novels for one from Grunky’s inventory, for instance.
Residents can also trade in CDs or sell their books if the quality is up to par.
Grunky said about 20% of his customers shop for their favorites online rather than coming into the store. Roughly 35,000 books of all types are listed on the website’s online catalog.
Once Read Books is located at 5422 E. Village Road and is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The shop does not make trades on Sundays, and residents are asked to call ahead if they’re bringing in a large inventory to trade or sell.
Awesome read and definitely want to check this place out soon! Great work!